06:45 AM EST: That's it, ladies and gents. The clock has hit 00:00, the scores are in, and World's Finest continues their dominance for the fifth year in a row with a 42-point victory over Nash Kato. The two highest-scoring teams in the league combined for 252-points, but a poor showing from the flex, TE, defense, and kicker positions kept the #1 seed just above the century mark and unable to keep up with the 2021 scoring champion. GM Dave S. maintained a solid core of drafted starts to get to the USAFL Bowl, but it was the 23 December pick up of Amon-Ra St. Brown and the 29 December signing of the Bears defense that lead to 60-points and certainly their fifth straight title. Compared to their standard lineup, that's a 48 -point swing that helped bump the Club from 99-to-147 points.
WFFC changed their charity of choice this season from the Ed Reed Foundation to Fisher House. Since there's no cost of shipping the trophy (again) or other operating costs, 100% of the league contributions will go to charity for a third straight year. This will of course be documented and posted here shortly.
Down in the Consultation Cup final, Hawk's Bench leads Vinegar Strokes 93-78 going into tonight's Monday Night game, where the Strokes need Najee Harris and Chris Boswell to combine for 16-points in order to claim the cup.
I want to thank each and everyone one of our owners/general managers for another wonderful season. It's your participation, contributions, and goodwill that keep this league unique. As you've all noticed we have moved to our official website: USAFLsportsball.com and you have seen a peek at some ideas for next season with a new experience point and achievement system that will be finalized during this offseason. Next season will see the implementation of a one-player "keeper" or "franchise" tag. This will add another dimension to league play in terms of the draft strategy, trades (including draft picks for player trades), and team branding. The USAFL front office will provide more details of how this will work during the off-season.
Thank you again for a great 2021 and I look forward to seeing everyone back in 2022!
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8:20 PM EST: With each team having one player remaining in the primetime game and World's Finest with a 60-point lead, it appears the Club may have their fifth straight championship locked up. The December 23rd signing of Amon-Ra St. Brown turned out to be the best Christmas gift this year as the late-season sleep scored 25-points above average by posting his first 100-yard game of the season. Kyler Murray also came through with a very serviceable 26-points to add to the Club's lead while also making up for another disappointing game by Ezekiel Elliott, who will almost certainly miss being franchise-tagged this offseason. Nash Kato needs Davante Adams to have a career day this evening, which is not impossible. We saw Jamar Chase put up 59-points for Yankee Zulu earlier today and already has 6-points as of 7:30 PM.
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We'll be covering the games as they develop with updates after the early, late, and Sunday night games.
4:00 PM EST: With just about all of the early games wrapping up, we have a clearer picture of the direction of the USAFL Bowl, but nothing is in stone yet. As it stands, #1 Nash Kato has a 74-53 lead over #2 World's Finest. The 21-point lead comes at a cost though, as Nash Kato has exhausted all but one player, while World's Finest has 5 to play. Despite only one player left, it's Davante Adams who can certainly put up big points. The most impressive roster move so far was the game-time decision to substitute the Bears defense for the Colts, who gave World's Finest 24-points, a +17-point net difference. GM Kevin has to be disappointed with Dawson Knox's performance. Typically a reliable performer, Knox laid a goose egg today, getting only two targets.
